State of the Market

[SussexSeagull]

Been served notice on my current contract as the work planned for me has been delayed into the middle of next year. Could really have not done with this on the run up to Christmas but onwards and upwards.

[jamesbrown]

Been served notice on my current contract as the work planned for me has been delayed into the middle of next year. Could really have not done with this on the run up to Christmas but onwards and upwards.

Sorry to hear that, chin up and on to the next one.

[JustKeepSwimming]

Spurs lost, so have some doom.

Most strikingly, the study found that freelancers who previously had the highest earnings and completed the most jobs were no less likely to see their employment and earnings decline than other workers. If anything, they had worse outcomes. In other words, being more skilled was no shield against loss of work or earnings.

https://www.ft.com/content/b2928076-...2-08fda2aa2fcf

[Alf W]

Had a chuckle at this earlier:

1) You approve your verbal acceptance for Gibbs Hybrid to represent you for IBM (Banking Client)
2) You are aware that these roles are based in As above
3) The daily rate will be: £450-£495 per day inside
4) You do not have any CCJ’s or Bankruptcies against you to the best of your knowledge.
5) You are aware that the role is initially 6 months,and the working hours are 40 hours per week (set by IBM).
6) Please note that should you be successful, IBM have the following notice clause in their contract: IBM - 7-day notice, You: Must complete duration of contract. Please also confirm your verbal acceptance.


If you want a contractor to definitely complete the duration of the contract, perhaps you should hire them *outside* IR35, rather than as a no rights employee...

it’s all irrelevant anyway as it will be driven by Purchase Orders Barclays issue to IBM anyway. IBM may issue a 12 month contract. POs will be 3/6 months. IBM are just in the chain as a marriage of convenience here and the hiring and ceasing of individuals is all controlled by Barclays so if you wanted out at the end of a PO they just wouldn’t issue another. Wouldn’t get hung up about it. At a push you could just phone in sick.

[FIERCE TANK BATTLE]

I think it's mostly irrelevant cos perm is looking more attractive every day. I've interviewed for a role, if I don't get it, I'm going to start looking for perm. If I'm gonna get paid these inside rates might as well go somewhere that will pat me on the head and buy me a cake on my birthday

[JustKeepSwimming]

I think it's mostly irrelevant cos perm is looking more attractive every day. I've interviewed for a role, if I don't get it, I'm going to start looking for perm. If I'm gonna get paid these inside rates might as well go somewhere that will pat me on the head and buy me a cake on my birthday

I think i've come to the conclusion that contracting in FS isn't viable currently outside of very high level. From what I've seen most rates are effectively set at the same cost to the bank as a permie.

Eg. £500 inside rate is going to be the same total cost as £65-75k salary + 12% pension + 5-10% bonus + 38 days leave + all the little benefits eg insurance and training budget.

At most you're getting maybe 10% extra, at a cost of flexibility, guaranteed inflation increases (near enough) and security.

[SussexSeagull]

Sorry to hear that, chin up and on to the next one.

Thanks. Would obviously have preferred to keep billing but it was never a contract I felt comfortable in. I subsequently saw an advert for a FTC in the same role I suspect they are cost saving as well.

As it is already a couple of years late I think sorting out the management rather than the people doing the work is long overdue but what do I know?

[gixxer2021]

The only way IBM can enforce the term via an umbrella is if the umbrella accepts the term AND the umbrella incorporate the term in the contract with you, which doesn't happen.

I’ve had this happen with an umbrella before, the client had their terms added which I had to explicitly accept on their portal, which included notice period, project, etc. I wasn’t happy with the notice period either, as they were trying to do similar, so I negotiated it down to a month either way. It’s always worth trying to negotiate these things.

[JustKeepSwimming]

I’ve had this happen with an umbrella before, the client had their terms added which I had to explicitly accept on their portal, which included notice period, project, etc. I wasn’t happy with the notice period either, as they were trying to do similar, so I negotiated it down to a month either way. It’s always worth trying to negotiate these things.

Fair enough. Who was the umbrella?

That also raises an interesting point. The remedy for breach of contract is recovery of costs caused by that breach (few exceptions). So in your situation, say you skip out on the contract without notice, the client suffers large losses (eg, the project is delayed). However you still don't have a contract with the client, you have one with the umbrella. So what are the umbrella losses? Their margin for the length of the contract, although you would argue that it's only the profit, as much of the margin is costs they won't be incurring processing you. Potentially you run the risk of the client blacklisting the umbrella because of you and the umbrella could argue damages resulting from reputational damage.

I don't think, and my gut feels, that the client's losses can be passed on to the employee via the umbrella contract.

[FIERCE TANK BATTLE]

So what are the umbrella losses? Their margin for the length of the contract, although you would argue that it's only the profit, as much of the margin is costs they won't be incurring processing you. Potentially you run the risk of the client blacklisting the umbrella because of you and the umbrella could argue damages resulting from reputational damage.

Could probably argue that they brought the reputational damage on themselves, if plumbing LTD says they'll fix your radiator, gets half way through and the plumber quits, and they have no other plumbers available, then reputational damage caused by you blacklisting them is their own fault for not having insurance against their plumber leaving, either having more plumbers, a plumber on standby, an agreement with another company for substitution, etc. - When I moved house the company I contracted for the removal van had a staffing issue and they simply called up another moving company they were friends with and those guys came and did it, and they said they help each other out all the time when needed.

In an outside contract, the onus is on you to supply an alternative or to have insurance that will pay out the damages. But as an employee of umbrella ltd, no employment contract would have a substitution clause in and even if there was one I doubt it would be legally binding.

None of this theory appears to have been tested yet, though, so who knows.